Author: sgauthier

The year is 2017, and seeing the advances technology has made over the past few decades, it’s hard to imagine where we might go from here.

For now, it appears we’ve reached a milestone. As far as vending machines go, this may be the greatest iteration. A Singapore dealer, Autobahn Motors, has created a 15-story vending machine – its sole purpose? Dispensing supercars.

Stacking German and Italian engineering marvels on top of each other allows all to enjoy the architectural goodness on display by this vertical dealership.

If you find yourself lucky enough to be shopping for a vehicle from Autobahn’s collection, you’ll be treated to a once in a lifetime experience.

Customers are greeted at ground level where they select a car for inspection via a tablet. The selected vehicle is then transported by a “fish bone” elevator system to the showroom turntable on the ground level–all within two minutes. Not the car you were looking for? Well, in that case, the process repeats itself all over.
The vertical system is an excellent workaround of Singapore’s scarcity of space. This unique system allows ABM to store up to 60 vehicles and stand out from the competition.

It’s not difficult to enjoy an evening of fine foods and entertainment, especially when it’s paired with a range of the best vehicles on offer. The Edmonton Motor Show’s 2017 Precious Metal Gala combined these things into a truly enjoyable evening.

The Precious Metal Gala featured the best vehicles available by various manufacturers all in one place. We were excited to explore the offerings. Here are some of the sights and highlights from the 2017 Gala:

First up, we have one of the gala favourites! The 2017 Nissan GT-R supercar has been revisited for further refinement on the interior to make it an amazing experience behind the wheel. Updated instrumentation, technology and connection give the GT-R it’s powerful feel. This track day superstar has received the necessary refinements to make it a road trip worthy contender too. Gone are the days of harsh low speed shifts and a bone jarring ride. Everyone is welcoming a new era of luxurious touring from Nissan’s peak vehicle.

Next up, Subaru was undoubtedly the best lit booth at the show. Perhaps a testament to their love of all things outdoors. They wanted everyone to see the meticulous details that have gone into their engineering. Such as their FA20 2.0L engine.

FA20 2.0L engine found in the BRZ Manufacturers: Take note of oil filter placement.

In a Canadian first, the Edmonton Motor Show was the first to receive the 2018 Subaru WRX! The new WRX remained the only Subaru viewers couldn’t enter though. It would’ve been nice to see the interior with the revised infotainment screen and optional Recaro seats.

The 2018 Subaru WRX

Subsequently, Infiniti brought us their 2016 Team F1 R.S.16 car, and if you’re familiar with the driving of Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer you’ll be familiar with the Formula One R.S.16. This racing car was originally designed by the Renault Sport Formula One Racing Team as their competition vehicle for 2016.

The F1 R.S.16 was driven by the likes of Jolyon Palmer in the 2016 Formula One season.

Audi continued the great vehicles by showcasing the newly redesigned 2018 Audi S5. The revised 6 cylinder now produces 354hp, with the packaging to match. How can you not love those lines?

It was Ford’s set up was likely the booth that took most visitors by surprise. The Edmonton Motor Show falls in the same timeframe as the New York International Auto Show, and as a huge fan of all things cars I can’t help but compare the offerings of each. Normally if you happen to be both a resident of Edmonton and a fan of the automotive industry you’ll feel forgotten when auto season rolls around.

However, this year Ford made us northerner’s truly feel like a booming metropolis. Bringing not only their latest offerings but also the full quiver of performance vehicles (ST, RS, Raptor, Shelby), including the all new Ford GT.

Volkswagen brought along the Atlas, the company’s all new 3 row SUV. The Atlas is aimed to sit above the Tiguan as VW’s dedicated people mover. With its modern contour and excellent finish quality the car certainly took a fair share of attention on the opening night of the show.

The 2018 Volkswagen Atlas will be coming to Canada in Summer 2017.

Finally, Mercedes-Benz showcased their great line-up including the Mercedes-AMG GT. With up to 503-horsepower and a V8 Bi-Turbo engine the 2017 Mercedes-AMG GT is designed for performance. Few vehicles can give the driver such an aggressive seating position and get away with it. There’s a distinct reason this vehicle won the 2015 Motor Trend’s Best Driver’s Car. It is a vehicle that is all about experience.

The Interior of the Mercedes-AMG GT.

The Edmonton Motor Show’s 2017 Precious Metal Gala was an experience with the amazing vehicles, great food and lively entertainment. Various vehicle manufacturers showcased their latest and greatest. We were excited to see everything on offer. We’re looking forward to next year already!

Auto Brands & Demographics

Have you ever wondered where your favorite automotive brands fit within market niches? The Auto Insurance Centre has your answer; their study was conducted using over 114 million Facebook brand fans from across North America.

Using Facebook fans as the sole input, the study managed to find some pretty interesting things regarding demographics of car brands. Though ‘page likes’ and ‘fans’ do not necessarily translate directly into vehicle sales, it does determine what type of individuals are willing to be subject to a distinct brand’s marketing and social-media presence, and the study gives us further insight into brand image and consumer perception.

Imports dominate Facebook in the U.S.: with Mercedes Benz (19.4 million), BMW (18.9 million), Ferrari (16.2 million), Nissan (13.5 million) and Lamborghini (11.7 million) rounding out the top five. It isn’t until 10th place that we see our first domestic brand appear: Jeep.

Beyond simply tallying the number of fans each manufacturer has on Facebook, the study has managed to dig deeper thanks to information available through Facebook profiles (as shown in the images above and below). Each brand’s ranking has been segregated by varying factors like age, gender, annual income, ethnicity and politics, etc.

The idea may seem far-fetched, but Google has already begun testing an alternative to the traditional alpha-numeric password.

Imagine being able to unlock your devices, profiles, personal accounts and much more without ever having to touch a keyboard. As it stands, the average consumer now has an average of 100 passwords to remember, and this number is continually on the rise. Google began the project, “Abacus”, with the intention to develop new indicators for users to use as passwords.

Abacus plans to kill passwords off not with one “secure” replacement, but by mixing multiple weaker indicators into one solid piece of inventory which collectively work to prove your identity. Beyond the obvious biometric indicators, such as face shape, smile and voice recognition, the program also hopes to incorporate some lesser known measures of identification (the way you move, swipe the screen, and hold the device, for example).

As separate entities it would be foolish to rely on any of these factors as security measures, but when combined they collectively serve as a measure that is 10x more secure than a single fingerprint.

Soon these features will be made available to third parties for testing, and some Android devices will have this as a beta option by the end of the year!

Ever wondered what brands are most popular in other countries? The British based auto parts retailer ‘Quickco” analyzed the most searched car brands on Google throughout 2016.

As we can see from the findings, nationalist tendencies seem to be more apparent in Europe than the anywhere else; with Sweden, Germany, France and Italy all remaining homegrown in their brand searches. As always, a few nations failed to provide data for the study, it’s hard to imagine what brand North Korea might have made up for this study.

Perhaps for some, the biggest surprise was to see BMW (a relatively small company) take 2nd place overall. However, if you’re a follower of BMW on social media this global presence is something you likely comprehend wholeheartedly. For the past three years BMW has created dedicated social marketing campaigns (remember the ‘Drift Mob’ video?) to assure brand reputation and user engagement. With over 19 million fans of BMW’s Facebook page, the online initiatives seem to be paying off both at home in Europe and abroad as BMW sits only below Toyota in Google searches across the globe.

Hear the word “hybrid’’ and you’ll likely conjure up images of dull, wedge shaped vehicles being driven by environmentalists (cue DiCaprio and his Prius). Yet it’s been nearly 20 years since the hybrid drivetrain was introduced to our automotive markets, and throughout the nearly two decades that we’ve had hybrids available in North America, the connotations surrounding these vehicles have remained unchanged. Beyond the stigma given to seemingly all hybrid vehicles, there is a reality that many car enthusiasts (myself included) have to face. The technological advancements made to not only electrical motors but also to small displacement internal combustion engines mean hybrids no longer have to be synonymous with the meek image of a Toyota Prius or the Honda Insight. These progressions now present uncharted potential territory for performance advancements.

As supercar manufacturers have proven with their most recent offerings, the electric motor isn’t merely there to meet emission regulations or boost fuel efficiency, they play a substantial role in acceleration, handling and braking. Beyond the obvious ecological benefits, the use of electronic motors presents an entirely new set of possibilities to nearly all areas of a vehicles performance metrics. Engineers would not spend extended periods laboring over heavy batteries and potential cooling issues within performance vehicles if the substantial benefits of hybridization were not present.

Look across a list of sports car manufacturers and it appears each brand has their own interpretation of performance-hybrid vehicles on offer: Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1, Porsche 918, Honda/Acura NSX, Koenissegg Regera, BMW i8. Though they utilize diverse layouts and technologies, the idea surrounding the electric motor’s input and applications remain relatively unchanged: provide power to the drivetrain ‘where and when’ traditional combustion engines fall short.

In the McLaren P1 for example, the electric motor fills the void in propulsion when waiting on the V8’s twin Turbo’s to spool up, much like the Kinetic Energy Recovery System on a formula one car the hybrid set up minimizes lag stemming from the traditional motor. The Ferrari on the other hand, uses two electric motors. One dedicated to onboard electronics while the other connects directly to the drivetrain, the outcome is an increase of 163hp coupled with a lower center of gravity due to battery placement and an engine whose power band is no longer subject to an A/C Compressor or any other cabin elements. The Porsche 918 went a different direction entirely, attaching one electric motor to the front axle to power the front wheels giving the 918 the surefooted-ness characteristic of AWD when coming out of corners, while another motor is attached to the rear axle providing additional torque output to boost to the vehicles already potent 4.6l V8 engine. The Honda NSX, employs a similar idea, attaching one electric motor to each front wheel, relying on each individual motor to deliver distinctive torque vectoring while cornering.

There’s talk of the upcoming BMW and Toyota’s jointly developed sports car also being powered by a hybrid system. Volkswagen (who has made it clear that they plan to produce 20 EV’s by 2020) has already begun working on a hybrid setup for one of their most beloved models, the GTI. The Mark VIII Golf GTI is slated to reach dealers in 2020, and is said to be adopting a 48-volt electrical assist system distributed between both axles much like the Porsche 918’s current layout. As the technologies implemented in today’s super cars (LaFerrari, McLaren P1, Porsche 918) slowly become increasingly affordable, we will begin to see a trickle-down effect as affordable hybrids begin adopting these substantial technical advancements. It won’t be long until these applications collectively transform the hybrid from its meek ecologically conscious-image, to the responsible sports car of the future.

Imagine a social platform, dedicated entirely to motoring; a digital media platform balancing enthusiast and professionally provided content. The idea is far from revolutionary, however, if accomplished on a large scale it will certainly play an influential role in the online advertising of vehicles.

Never has a startup received such substantial backing from such reputable individuals in its early formation. DriveTribe has received funding from not only notable entrepreneurs but also has backing by the ex-Top Gear trio, Clarkson, May and Hammond.

“The site plans to build an engine to send content that will specifically target the disparate communities that make up car fans — from petrol heads to classic car aficionados. A versioning engine and multi-variate testing system will trial ‘hundreds of different versions’ of content on different segments of users, defined by age, gender, location and interests, with ‘optimal matches’ pushed directly to peoples’ social timelines through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. There will, of course, be iOS and Android apps, as well.”

After receiving my invite just prior to public launch, I spent some time poking around the app. What at first seemed to be little more than Instagram dedicated entirely to vehicles, soon led to a realization of the platforms marketing potential. Essentially, DriveTribe will allow a new sort of content targeting engine to emerge as individuals will be providing direct automotive related information. Information which will be aggregated much like Facebook and will allow automotive advertisers to target look-a-like crowds and distinct individuals according to group information and interests provided.

It seems fitting that this new site will segment users into separate tribes. As “Tribe” marketing has become a norm in the digital age, rapidly updated real time information provides the ability for advertisers to display highly pertinent ads to targeted online social communities.

To make money, the startup doesn’t plan to pursue traditional online display advertising. Instead, the object is to go after native advertising, or branded advertising, similar to what Vice Media does, said Mr. Schmitt.

“I think that is the way that advertising is going. I have a lot of car advertisers coming to us,” he said. “It allows them to target their advertising.”

To learn more about DriveTribe you can visit their website, and for more information on all things automotive marketing you can subscribe to our newsletter!

In the past, I’ve heard auto enthusiasts and journalists describe Audi’s as unresponsive luxury vehicles; painting them out to be simple point A to B vehicles, void of inspiration and personality. Personally, I’ve never thought that was the case, I’ve always been a fan. From a marketing perspective however, Audi’s recent “Test Drive Cube” program for their new flagship A8 is one of the more inspirational actions we’ve seen from a German Automaker in recent years. Audi described this as the first test drive that comes directly to the customer. The pilot program was first lunched in Holland with nearly 50 potential customers having packages from Audi delivered to their doors. The contents of these packages? A solitary black cube with the familiar “Engine Start/Stop” Button located on a single façade of the cube.

Once pressed, the button serves as a transmitter to the nearest Audi dealership. After the dealership receives the signal, an Audi A8 is delivered to the customer in precisely 90 minutes.

Audi called this program the “Audi Test Drive cube” as following its delivery, the customer received an exclusive 24-hour period with Audi’s new flagship A8.

With this pilot program, Audi saw a 100% response rate and a 24% conversion rate, meaning that nearly 1 out of 5 clients felt motivated enough either by the programs exclusive treatment or the vehicle itself. Following the remarkably good response of customers the program was expanded to numerous other countries. You can see the cube in action here.

Contrary to the popular belief that auto sales would dwindle with the rise of millennials, it turns out that they are actually longing for vehicle ownership. Turns out the selfie-generation is also the generation of self-transportation.

Young people have moved beyond ride-sharing services. This is indicated in studies showing that companies like Uber and TappCar are used only for specific events and purposes, which suggests that ride-sharing services could become a means of replacing cabs, but not necessarily car ownership. In 2014, for the first time, millennials purchased more vehicles than generation X. As time goes on, we can expect further purchasing power from millennials to dictate automotive trends. In fact, the growing amount of choices in the sport-utility segment are a reflection of millennial trends.

How significantly did the Possum update impact local search results in Google?

From the perspective of the local SEO results, Google’s most recent update was substantial.

Some major changes resulting from this update are:

1. City Limits:
If a company’s brick and mortar location exists outside city limits, but most of its clients are within that city, it’s quite likely that search results have not been helpful to these businesses in the past. However, with the recent Possum Update, these issues have seemingly been fixed as city limits are playing a less prominent role in SERP. It is not yet confirmed whether or not Google Maps was given an update to accommodate this or if the search algorithm was tweaked. However, we do know progress is being seen.

2. Address Affiliation Filter:
In the past, the local algorithm filtered out local profiles that shared either a phone number or domain in order to weed out duplicates. In order for businesses to avoid being filtered out by Google in a situation like this, companies should provide a business license to Google, particularly if listings are negatively affecting their website rankings. This will distinguish the listing/domain from another business with the same address.

3. Location:
The new algorithm update is using IP address locations to ensure more detailed local results to nearby users. Further, Google has dedicated larger emphasis to location, which translates to the searcher’s location settings playing an increasingly large role in displaying and ranking which adds are viewable from which location.

For further information regarding Google’s Possum update, check out the link below!